Guest View

By Neil Tibbot

Contributions by other Citizens Advisory Transportation Committee members

On December 1, the citizens of Edmonds are invited to step up to the podium and express their comments to the Edmonds City council regarding the proposed transportation improvements within the city.

The opportunity to speak is here and the City Council wants to hear your views.

The all-volunteer Citizens Advisory Transportation Committee, appointed by the mayor, has been working with engineering department staff and a private consulting company on the draft Transportation Element of the Comprehensive plan.

Included in the plan is a prioritized list transportation projects. The main issue, of course, is determining the source of funding for these projects.

At the November 9, Planning Board, the Citizens Advisory Transportation Committee showed slides of poorly maintained streets and stretches of roadways without sidewalks adjacent to elementary schools and parks.

Critical projects also include intersections, such as Five-Corners and 76^th and 212^th where the Edmonds-Woodway high school is located, that experience high levels of traffic flow.

Safety experts state that drivers tend to avoid the busy arterials and choose alternative routes, which are often through residential neighborhoods on local streets.

This increases the frustration level of homeowners witnessing cars speeding down normally quiet streets.

The source of funding transportation improvements was previously the motor vehicle excise tax, but this funding source have been significantly reduced with the enactment of Tim Eymans I-917.

As a result, the city must find new funding sources or eliminate another budget item.

Without additional funding the City will be on an 80 year street overlay cycle, whereas the standard is 30 years.

The Citizens Advisory Committee supports an increase in theTransportation Benefit District (TBD) vehicle registration fee. The TBD fees are dedicated to funding transportation projects, and not placed into the citys general fund. The additional TBD funding would only be a fraction of the cost of pre-Eyman vehicle excise fee.

The shortage of funds creates another unintended result, the inability to access State and Federal grants for improving traffic, bicycle, and pedestrian safety in Edmonds.

Without matching funds its estimated that the city is leaving 16 million dollars of untapped grants in the states coffers instead of paving our streets.

The lack of a funding also prevents the city from taking advantage of lower construction costs now available with the slower economy.

One example of a recent project that receivedoutside funding is the recent improvement to 9^th and Casperswalkway project. This project has been in planning stages for over 8 years, and by the time it was completed in this current economic cycle, it came in under budget.

The recently adopted Sustainability Element of the Comprehensive plan touts the benefits of planning for and implementing a connected system of walkways and bikeways which will provide alternative forms of transportation while also encouraging recreation, physical activity and exposure to the natural environment. In order to achieve this goal this admirable goal, proper funding must be in place.

According to committee member Neil Tibbott, the city of Edmonds may be missing an opportunity to invest in the city when the circumstances are most favorable.